There's something fishy about the latest batch of DepEd fund names

Amid preparations for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the House of Representatives prosecution team uncovered another set of allegedly fictitious names listed as recipients of her office's multi-million peso confidential funds — namely “Amoy Liu,” “Fernan Amuy,” and “Joug De Asim.”

According to House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V on Sunday, the names — dubbed “Team Amoy Asim” — allegedly received a portion of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) confidential funds when Duterte served as its secretary.

He said verification with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the names have no birth, marriage, or death records on file. This mirrors earlier findings involving other questionable recipients such as “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango,” and five individuals all named “Dodong Gang.”

"As Congress continues to review the list of recipients of confidential funds in DepEd, there is a new group that what we call 'Team Amoy Asim,'" Ortega said.

Vice President Duterte is facing allegations of misappropriating P612.5 million in confidential funds — P500 million allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million to the DepEd —between 2022 and 2023.

The emergence of allegedly fictitious names in fund liquidation reports has become a key issue in the case and, according to Ortega, presents strong grounds for her impeachment and impending trial in the Senate.

"What kind of payroll is this? All the names seem fabricated. This is impossible if the correct process is followed," Ortega argued. “This is not simple negligence. The names in the liquidation are fake. Where is the accountability?”

Earlier checks by the PSA found that, out of 1,992 supposed OVP recipients, 1,322 had no birth records, 1,456 had no marriage records, and 1,593 had no death records.

Likewise, from 677 names listed under the DepEd’s confidential funds, 405 lacked birth records, 445 had no marriage records, and 508 had no death records.

In addition to “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango,” and “Dodong Gang,” other names such as “Renan Piatos,” “Pia Piatos-Lim,” and “Xiaome Ocho” also appeared in the list. Some names appear to resemble snack brands or tech products, further raising suspicions about their authenticity.

Duterte has since questioned the legitimacy of these names, stating: “We don’t know if that’s really what the Office of the Vice President submitted [to the Commission on Audit].”

During the congressional probe, state auditor Gloria Camora confirmed to lawmakers that Duterte’s office had submitted acknowledgment receipts (ARs) that contained only signatures, unreadable names, or entries showing multiple recipients with the same name.

House lawmakers critical of Duterte have repeatedly raised concerns over the ARs, citing document inconsistencies and alleged fabrication to justify the use of the funds.

Duterte has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claiming the allegations are politically motivated and intended to derail her potential run for president in the 2028 national elections.